Media Scribbler

Jay Leno is about to shake the television landscape merely by changing timeslots.
According The New York Times writer Bill Carter, who wrote an incredible book called “The Late Shift” about Leno’s original ascent to The Tonight Show after a protracted public battle for the slot with David Letterman),  the longtime Tonight Show host is signing a new deal with NBC to host a show every weeknight, only 90 minutes earlier.

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It’s hard to debate that Britney Spears has been pretty unforgettable this year. How many of us woke up on a couple of mornings in January to find out that she’d been the subject of another media circus, with paparazzi and mainstream press nudging each other aside as she was committed to some sort of involuntary treatment? She was the first story on CNN’s live morning coverage, for crying out loud.
Now Britney’s back and from all appearances will cement her “comeback” on Dec. 2, when her new album comes out on her 27th birthday. Shortly before …read more

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If anyone out there has put a bet on how long it would take for Hollywood to greenlight some sort of project based on the life of President-Elect Barack Obama, hope you took the under on 48 hours.
HBO announced Tuesday that they have acquired the rights to an as-yet-untitled documentary (anyone want to lay a bet on it being named “Yes, We Can” or “Change Has Come”?) directed by Amy Rice and Alicia Sam and produced by Edward Norton and his production company, Class 5 Films.
The movie will document the journey taken by Obama in moving …read more

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In the past few weeks, “Saturday Night Live” has managed to squeeze every political parody that would’ve seemed very improbable just a couple of months ago. After all, who would’ve predicted in early July (outside Sen. John McCain’s campaign, at least) that a Tina Fey look-alike would randomly become a Vice-Presidential candidate?
But on a show where politicians making fun of themselves have become much-valued guest stars (remember Al Gore’s would’ve been Oval Office speech where he basically ruminated on what might have happened if he’d won the 2000 election?) Sen. McCain got an early start. He and Tina Fey (playing …read more

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Today is a very, very sad day for many in the “Doctor Who” fandom. The actor who has portrayed the 10th regeneration of the Doctor, David Tennant, will be leaving the TARDIS behind in 2009.
Tennant, who made the announcement after winning the outstanding drama performance award at the National Television Awards on Wednesday, said “When Doctor Who returns in 2010 it won’t be with me.”
The show, which is slated to return for a full season in 2010 after five specials starring Tennant in 2009, will also be changing executive producers that year. Russell T. Davies, who …read more

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One of the best uses of modern statistics and polling has done is in bringing things out of test screenings and focus groups to let them know women hate one character or think another is too stereotypical, et. al.
But by the power of the Internet (and a great little webcasting platform called Seesmic) a producer of the show “Heroes” to find out one thing — how many people watch his show on the Web through Hulu or P2P shares, downloaded them from iTunes or simply TiVo it. He also wants to know what you like about that method you like.
Where …read more

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It seems like the wait for new episodes of “Lost” has been long and torturous for many of its fans. But according to creator J.J. Abrams, there may be new life for the show after it ends its ABC run in May of 2010.
“The one thing that makes you think maybe there could be [a movie] is that ABC agreed to end the series after six years,” says Abrams. “Which is a gift, because you know you won’t have years seven and eight where you’re thinking, ‘They should’ve ended at year six,’ and you know how …read more

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Ever thought about how much more  you’d watch CNN if they had Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert on as analysts for the debates?
Let’s face it — until they toned it down a month or so ago, MSNBC had the unintentional comedy troupe of Olbermann, Matthews, Buchanan and Maddow. But over at CNN, they’ve been relying on mostly the star power of their political team and all their Twittering.
But now D.L. Hughley is headed for the cable news net to launch something completely new — a panel with Hughley and guests waxing wise on politics, entertainment, sports and pop culture.
Part of …read more

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Most people thought that the war of words between supermodel Christie Brinkley and her ex-hubby, Peter Cook, was over after the world found out the sordid details of Cook’s affair with a 17-year-old and alleged porn addiction during their divorce trial this summer. Well, no such luck.
Cook has filmed a sit-down inteview with Barbara Walters tonight on ABC’ “20/20″, sez E! Online. Parts of the interview have already been put on ABC.com, with Cook trotting out the same lines unfaithful spouses have used for years — they just wanted more attention, dammit!
“I was seeking a connection I could not find …read more

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Seriously, did anyone watch “Saturday Night Live” last night to see Anna Faris from “The House Bunny”? When word leaked that Tina Fey was going to be doing another Sarah Palin impersonation, suddenly enough people found a reason to stop watching SportsCenter after the Georgia-Alabama game for the show to get a 6.0 Nielsen rating share. The Saturday primetime show with the most viewers on the nets, “48 Hours Mystery“, had a 5.0.

If you aren’t in America (blame NBC and Hulu) or don’t want to view the clip, Amy Poehler did a surprisingly good Katie Couric impression as Fey/Palin answered …read more

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